Colorado State University to Host Statewide Sustainability and Service Learning Higher Education Conference

A conference hosted by Colorado State University will explore how higher education can link principles of sustainability to teaching and learning to promote outreach and benefit communities.

The mini-conference, Teaching Sustainability Through Service-Learning: Colorado Case Studies, will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, in the Lory Student Center on campus.

During break-out sessions, faculty and graduate students from around Colorado (including Colorado State University, the University of Colorado-Denver, University of Colorado-Boulder, Colorado College and Colorado School of Mines) will discuss ways to promote sustainability by using service-learning and other community-based engagement strategies in their classes. Discussions will also highlight how engaged students leaders can participate in, support and take leadership in service and learning efforts.

The conference’s concurrent morning sessions will include a workshop on best practices in service-learning and a range of faculty panel presentations focusing on case studies of sustainable building design, clean energy and food security.

Julie Newman, director of the Office of Sustainability at Yale University, will provide the lunch keynote address titled "Re-conceptualizing Service Learning in the Context of a Sustainable Campus."

Afternoon sessions will include case studies and discussions about credit-bearing inter-disciplinary collaborations on sustainability, highlighting local and international projects which respond to genuine community needs while enhancing students’ academic learning.

Registration information and the most up-to-date information on the conference sessions can be found online at tilt.colostate.edu/sl. Conference registration, which includes a full sit-down lunch and keynote address, is $20 for faculty and $10 for student and community partner participants. The deadline for conference registration is Sept. 17.

The conference is a collaboration organized by the Service-Learning Program in the Institute for Teaching and Learning at Colorado State and the university’s College of Engineering. Organizers also include CU-Boulder’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering’s program for developing communities; Colorado Campus Compact; the International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology and CU-Boulder’s Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement.

For more information, visit tilt.colostate.edu/sl or contact Clayton Hurd, director of Service-Learning in the Institute for Learning and Teaching, at clayton.hurd@colostate.edu or (970) 491-2032.

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